Water is the most
important substance in the world.
This simple chemical construction of
hydrogen and oxygen atoms is the
sustenance and life-blood of all
life--no matter the type--on the
planet. Unfortunately, this
substance, so very essential to our
survival as living beings, has
become increasingly more
contaminated and dangerous, as time
has gone on. Pure water, the simple
construction of hydrogen and oxygen,
no longer exists on the earth today,
and it is becoming increasingly rare
to find a source of water that has
been untouched by human activity and
industry.
Scientists have long known about
water's potential as a toxin as well
as a life-giver. Water-borne
diseases like cholera and typhoid
ravaged populations in both Europe
and the United States for centuries
before a method was obtained to
sanitize public drinking water. It
would take the discovery of the
microscope and proper filtering
techniques to combat this disease.
Now, in the age of chemical
pesticides and industrial waste,
water has become a carrier of
increasingly more dangerous and
toxic chemicals. Such water, with
chemical and contaminant
accompaniment, arrives in homes
across the United States each day,
under the auspices of municipally
treated drinking water. Several of
these chemicals are known
carcinogens, and it is only a matter
of time before consumers begin to
connect the rising number of cases
of cancer to the rising level of
chemicals in "treated" drinking
water. A water filter has never been
more necessary, even essential, to
our survival. If pure water is the
most essential aspect of our
continued existence as living
beings, water filters have now
become the key to that pure water.
So, what exactly is a water filter?
What makes it so very essential? How
has it become the newest panacea to
the problem of contaminated water?
In the following paragraphs, you can
read about water filters, learn
about how they work, and recognize
why they have become so essential.
A water filter uses a combination of
simple and complex procedures to
systematically remove contaminants
from water in order to provide clean
and healthy drinking water. While
the construction and media of water
filters differ widely, the general
techniques and methods are
relatively similar to most filters.
Water filters generally use some
type of granulated media (ranging
from sand to carbon to zinc) to
physically block the passage of
contaminants when water passes over
the media. This type of physical
filtration is the oldest and
simplest filtration method.
Historical documents show that
Hippocrates, the famed father of
modern medicine, designed a simple
filter using this technique. Ancient
Egyptian drawings even document the
use of physical filtration in
Egyptian culture, thousands of years
ago! The first municipal treatment
plant, designed in 19th century
Scotland, also used the technique of
physical filtration with a
granulated sand media.
While physical filtration is
certainly an important part of the
water filtration process, it is not
always an entirely effective means
of filtering water. Elusive
contaminants like chlorine and
microorganisms often cannot be
controlled for in this process.
However, recent innovations in water
filtration have brought about the
use of chemical filtration and redox
reactions to remove such
contaminants from water.
Such types of filtration use the
science of positive and negative
charges to either break the bond of
contaminants with water or to
chemically change dangerous
contaminants into other, less
harmful elements. In chemical
filtration, a filter media is used
not to physically block the passage
of contaminants but to chemically
attract those contaminants. In a
redox reaction, a particular type of
filter media is used to attract
electrons from contaminants, thus
transforming the chemical identity
of these contaminants and changing
them into less harmful elements.
Because of these innovative methods
of filtration, water filters are now
able to remove more contaminants
than any other treatment method.
You may ask, which method of
filtration is better? Certainly,
physical means of filtration have
been used and valued for centuries
while chemical filtration is just
beginning its birth into the water
treatment industry. The first manner
of filtration has the support of
time and considerable scientific
experimentation while the other
method has the support of the newest
scientific innovations of the 21st
century. The fact is, neither one of
these methods are perfect and ideal.
Physical and chemical filtration are
meant to work cooperatively,
complementing one another so that
benefits may be emphasized and
drawbacks minimized. In this modern
era, most filters generally use a
combination of both physical and
chemical filtration, employing
multiple medias and methods.
It is certainly clear that water
sources will not become magically
clean and pure in such an era of
industrial activity. While we can
trust in governmental agencies to
set regulations and spur more
responsibility in water management,
we cannot rely on these agencies to
provide entirely pure, clean sources
of water from which to draw. Also,
municipal water treatment plants
will likely never produce a truly
healthy, treated water product. The
problems of treating so much water
for such a large population prohibit
perfection in municipal treatment.
Fortunately for water consumers,
there is no longer a need to depend
entirely upon the efforts of
governmental agencies and municipal
treatment plants. By using the
simple purification techniques of a
home water filter, you may begin to
provide clean, healthy water for you
and your family to drink. The
importance of clean drinking water
to our survival cannot be
overstated. Take steps now to ensure
your own survival by drinking pure,
filtered water.
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